Separating and concentrating machine



April' 14, 1936. A. E. GRAPP SEPARATING AND CONCENTRATING MACHINE Filed Jan. 2, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 114, 1936. A. E. GRAPP 2,037,574

SEPARATING AND CONCENTRATING MACHINE n Filed Jan 2, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES- SEPARATING AND CONCENTRATING MACHINE Albert E. Grapp, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application January 2, 1934, Serial No. 704,942

9 Claims.

This invention relates to the separation and concentration of the heavier particles from a mass of disintegrated, granular or divided material. The invention, while applicable for wide general use is particularly adapted for separating and concentrating heavy metal particles from prepared and disintegrated soil or gangue containing the same.

It is an object of my invention to provide a simple and highly efficient apparatus for rapidly and accurately separating the heavier particles from a quantity of divided material or gangue and which will function continuously receiving its supply of divided material from a conveyor, chute or other continuous source.

It is a further object to provide a novel and eflicient method of effecting the separation of the heavier particles from divided material which method may be employed without interruption.

Another object is the provision of apparatus and a method of the class described which separates the heavier particles by turbulating the divided material while stratifying and simultaneously deflecting the upper and lighter strata while moving and deflecting the lower strata or heavier material in an opposite direction.

More specifically it is an object to provide rotary separating and concentrating apparatus which, through the combined functions of a series of radial lifting or stratifying blades with an upper and a lower series of conveying or defleeting elements, produces a progressive Wavelike turbulation of the prepared gangue or divided material while moving the lighter material upwardly and outwardly for discharge and removal from the peripheral edge of a circular platform or pan and simultaneously moving the lower strata or heavier material inwardly toward a discharge passage co-axial with the rotary structure. My improved apparatus does not depend upon the principle either of centrifugal or centripetal forces, but rather upon the combined effects of Stratification, turbulation, and positive conveying or deflection.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:--

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through an embodiment of my apparatus having a series of vertically and axially aligned separating and concentrating mechanisms disposed in a common cylindrical frame or casing, the pan and hub of the upper mechanism being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a cross: section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the lifting blades and upper series of conveyor wings in plan;

' Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the lower series of conveyor or deflection wings;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the lifting blades and upper series of wing conveyor elements in. plan and on a larger scale;

Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on the line 55 of Fig.v 4;

Fig. 6 is: a fragmentary bottom plan view showing the bottom. surface of. a lifting blade, a fragment. of the: edge of the hollow hub and two of the: lower: ring conveying elements, the innermost of which cooperates with the lower edge of the hub; and a built-up portion on the blade to form grinding shoe, and

Fig. '7 is a cross section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6 showing the. relation of said. grinding shoe with a spirally ridged annulus defining the discharge passage for the heavier separated material.

The embodiment of the invention. illustrated comprises a series of separating and concentrating mechanisms fixed to a common driving shaft 9 and arranged one above the other and discharging the heavier separated particles through a discharge chute constructed by the co-axial hollow hubs of the several rotors. Y

Each of the mechanisms includes a circular pan or platform [0 having the upstanding peripheral flange or rim lfla. The platform or upper surface is preferably flat throughout its greater area and may be provided with a central re-inforced annulus l I at its central portion having spiral ridges Ha, the top of which is disposed substantially flush with the flat portion of the pan l-D and the convolutions of which are spaced closely together; The central opening in the ring it constitutes a discharge passage and the hollow hub l2 of a rotor is mounted just above said passage, suitably affixed to the vertical driving shaft 9. and having an external diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the discharge passage in the annulus of the platform and an internal diameter slightly smaller than that of said passage.

The several pans II] are mounted in vertically spaced relation upon a suitable cylindrical frame indicated as an entirety by the letter F and each pan may be adjusted to maintain a horizontal position by suitable means, such as a series of circumferentially spaced depending vertical adjustment screws i3 threadedly mounted in short outwarly projecting arms lfib and engaging supporting brackets l4 provided by the frame F.

Each of the hubs l2 rigidly carries a series of (as shown four) radial and horizontal lifting or stratifying blades E5 the forward edges of which are bevelled or inclined on their upper surfaces to deflect or lift the material cut, upwardly. The several lifting blades l5 are preferably progressively set at slightly higher levels above the bottom of the pan iii. For example, the first blade may clear the pan by inch, the second by inch, the third by inch and the fourth by inch.

Each of the lifting blades I5 carries an upper and a lower series of spaced wing conveyor or deflection elements. The wings iii of the upper series are obliquely disposed with reference to the longitudinal center lines of the blades and deflect material engaged thereby outwardly to the periphery of the pan and are also canted inwardly and rearwardly to produce a further lifting action on the material as it is moved outwardly. The upper Wings 55 carried by successive arms are staggered in spiral form outwardly. The wings ll of the lower series are affixed to the bottoms of lifting blades l5 and are obliquely disposed with reference to the longitudinal center lines of said blades in a direction opposite to the upper series of wings for the purpose of conveying or deflecting material engaged thereby inwardly toward the central discharge of the pan. The Wings carried by the several arms are necessarily of different heights in order that the lower edges of all wings may have the same slight clearance above pan Ill, or in other words, lie in the same plane. The lower wings I! carried by successive arms are staggered in spiral form to deflect or convey inwardly toward the central discharge opening.

Suitable means is provided for feeding disintegrated gangue or other suitably divided. material toward the several mechanisms and as shown this feeding mechanism may comprise a series of substantially horizontal and radially disposed spiral conveyors !8 each having its discharge disposed adjacent to and directed toward one of the hollow hubs l 2. Spiral conveyors l 8 receive from a stack or supply pipe H! which communicates with a hopper or other suitable source of supply. The shafts lSa of the several spiral conveyors may project through the stack [9 and all of said spiral conveyors may be driven by a common chain 29 engaging suitable driving sprockets fixed to the outer ends of said shafts.

I provide depending shoes 2! on the rotor adjacent the central discharge passage for the purpose of rolling out, grinding and crushing the particles of the heavier separated material which are too large to pass through the clearance space between the lower edge of the hub 12 and the edge of the annulus I l defining the discharge passage. To this end triangular shoes 2| may be formed between the inner-most lower wings I! of each lifting blade and the lower edge of the hub l2 by building up the lower portions of the lifting blades, the bottoms of said shoes inclining from the apex of the angle rearwardly. The bottoms of said shoes may be roughened or slightly corrugated in a transverse direction and these shoes cooperate with the roughened surface or spiral ridge formed on the upper surface of the annulus i I to crush, roll and grind particles into such size and shape that they will work toward.

the discharge opening and pass through the clearance space between the lower edge of the hub and the annulus H. The cooperative relationship between shoes 2| and annulus H is clearly shown in Figs. 6 and '7.

Operation In operation the prepared disintegrated material is discharged radially against the hollow hubs and is evenly distributed by the rotation of said hubs. The radial lifting blades l5, which, as has been stated, are successively set at higher levels above the bottom of pan Ill progressively stratify and lift the material, the lighter particles and material being upwardly deflected into engagement with the upper set of wing conveyor elements and being progressively moved outwardly and also upwardly by said upper wing elements. The successive lifting and deflecting actions produced by the radially spaced blades l5 and the two sets of wing conveying elements 16 and I1 respectively, aided by gravity, of course, cause the lifted material to successively drop and turbulate with the heavier particles remaining near the bottom. The separation of the heavier particles to the bottom is greatly assisted by the vacuum effect produced behind and beneath the lifting blades and the lower series of wing conveying elements deflect the lower strata of material, which is the heavier material, successively inward toward the center and discharge opening of the pan. There are therefore several important factors all of which closely cooperate to produce a resultant effect upon the movement, turbulence and stratification of the material, which ultimately effects the separation of the heavier particles from the lighter.

In the operation as above described, all the valuable and heavier particles are separated by gravitation from the other material before the lighter material is conveyed or worked outwardly toward the edge of the pan. The heavier particles once getting below the lifting blades will remain there due to gravitation and be worked inwardly toward the central discharge, the lighter material for the most part only being successively stratified by the action of the lifting blades l5. The lighter material conveyed and worked outwardly by the turbulence and the conveying action of the upper series of wings H at length overflows the edge of the pan, dropping into the cylindrical housing or frame F and drops between the series of pans and inner periphery of that housing where it may be collected and discharged in any suitable manner.

My method may be employed and my apparatus utilized with dry, divided material, or, if desired, will also be successful where water is supplied to the materials as the dry material is discharged into the several rotors and pans.

The steps of my improved method or process for separation and concentration of heavy divided material are disclosed fully, it is thought, in the foregoing description. Briefly summarized, they consist in the step of discharging and distributing divided material containing relatively heavy particles, then agitating, turbulating and stratifying the material by progressive turbulation and stratification and simultaneously conveying or moving the lighter material upwardly and outwardly while conveying and moving the heavier particles inwardly and, with gravitation, downwardly to a suitable discharge. The turbulation and stratification steps are preferably carried out by revolution or rotation, but I expressly do not limit myself to rotative forces. Rotative forces are preferable in that the turbulence, deflection and conveyance of the lighter material in an outward direction are accelerated from a; point adjacent the center of the mass toward the outer edge thereof. Likewise, the movement of the particles inwardly and centrally is decelerated when rotative forces are utilized thereby increasing the separation and concentration efficiency by offering opportunity for the small remnants of light material, dust, etc., to be stratified before the heavier particles reach the central discharge opening.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided simple and highly efficient apparatus for very accurately and rapidly separating the heavier particles from a quantity of divided material, such as crushed or disintegrated gangue. The apparatus is particularly well adapted for separating particles of gold and other valuable metals, but is also suited for wide general usage.

It will further be seen that I have provided an improved and efiicient method for separating and concentrating heavier particles from a mass of divided material, which may be carried out by various equipment and apparatus.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention, which, generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth and in the novel parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:-

1. In apparatus for separating and concentrating disintegrated material, a platform, stratifying means movable over said platform and including a blade provided with an upper inclined surface and conveying means cooperating with said stratifying means and movable above said platform, said last mentioned means including a series of elements disposed above said stratifying means and adapted to deflect the upper strata or lighter material in one direction and includ ing a series of elements disposed below said stratifying means and adapted to deflect the lower or heavier strata of material in an opposite direction.

2. In apparatus for separating and concentrating disintegrated material, a platform, stratifying means movable over said platform and including a series of plates having upper inclined surfaces and progressively spaced different distances above said platform, conveying and turbulating means disposed above said plates and cooperating therewith and also movable over said platform, said last mentioned means comprising a series of wing conveying elements adapted to deflect the upper and lighter strata of material in one direction and conveying means disposed below said plates and cooperating therewith and also movable over said platform, said last mentioned means comprising a series of wing conveying elements adapted to deflect the lower and heavier strata of material in the opposite direction.

3. In apparatus for separating and concentrating disintegrated material, a platform having a central discharge passage, revoluble stratifying means comprising a series of radially arranged lifting elements spaced at relatively short distances above said platform, said elements having upper surfaces inclined against the direction of rotation, revoluble conveying means disposed above said stratifying means and including a series of conveying elements adapted to deflect the upper strata or lighter material outwardly and a second revoluble conveying means disposed below saidv stratifying means and including a series of conveying elements disposed in close proximity to said platform and adapted to deflect the lower or heavier strata of material inwardly toward said discharge passage.

4. In apparatus for separating and concentrating disintegrated material, a platform having a central discharge passage, a rotor mounted axially of said discharge passage and carrying a series of substantially radial lifting blades spaced at relatively short distances above said platform, said blades having upper surfaces inclined against the direction of rotation of said rotor, a series of upstanding spaced wings carried by each of said blades and inclined to deflect material engaged thereby outwardly during the rotation of said rotor, and a second series of wing conveying elements carried by the under side of said blades with their lower edges disposed in slight clearance to said platform and inclined to deflect material engaged thereby inwardly toward said central discharge passage.

5. In apparatus for separating and concentrating disintegrated material, a platform having a central discharge passage, a rotor mounted axially of said discharge passage and carrying a series of substantially radial lifting blades progressively spaced different distances above said platform, said blades having upper surfaces inclined against the direction of rotation of said rotor,

conveying means disposed above said lifting blades and also revoluble about the axis of said rotor and comprising a series of upstanding spaced wings inclined and constructed to deflect the upper and lighter material outwardly and a second revoluble conveying means disposed below said blades and comprising a series of spaced wings working in close proximity to said platform and inclined and constructed to deflect the lower and heavier material inwardly toward said central discharge passage.

6. In apparatus for separating and concentrating disintegrated material, a platform having a central discharge passage, a rotor mounted axially of said discharge passage and carrying a series of substantially radial lifting blades spaced at relatively short distances above said platform, said blades having upper surfaces inclined against the direction of rotation of said rotor, a series of upstanding spaced wings carried by each of said blades and inclined to deflect material engaged thereby outwardly during the rotation of said rotor, the wings carried by the successive blades being spirally staggered outwardly, and a second series of wing conveying elements carried by the under side of said blades with their lower edges disposed in slight clearance to said platform and inclined to deflect material engaged thereby inwardly toward said central discharge passage, the wings of said second series being staggered inwardly on the successive blades.

7. In apparatus for separating and concentrating disintegrated material, a circular pan having a central discharge passage, and a peripheral rim or flange, revoluble stratifying means disposed axially of said pan and comprising a series of radially arranged lifting elements spaced at relatively short distances above said platform, said elements having upper surfaces inclined against the direction of rotation, revoluble conveying means disposed axially above said stratifying means and including a series of conveying elements adapted to deflect the upper strata or lighter material outwardly where it will ultimately over-flow the rim of said pan and be discharged and a second revoluble conveying means disposed below said stratifying means and including a series of conveying elements disposed in close proximity to said platform and adapted to defleet the lower or heavier strata of material inwardly toward said discharge passage.

8. In apparatus for separating and concentrating disintegrated material, a platform having a central discharge passage, revoluble stratifying means mounted axially of said platform and comprising a multiplicity of elements spaced relatively short distances above said platform, revoluble conveying means disposed above said stratifying means and including elements adapted to deflect the upper or lighter strata of material outwardly and a second revoluble conveying means disposed below said stratifyingmeans and including elements adapted to deflect the lower or heavier strata of material inwardly toward said discharge passage, a hub mounted axially of said discharge passage and terminating at its lower end in close proximity to the edge of said platform defining said passage and a series of depending shoes associated with said second revoluble conveying means and disposed in close proximity to said platform for grinding, rolling and crushing particles of material to permit the same to be deflected inwardly into said discharge passage between said hub and the inner peripheral edge of said platform.

9. The structure set forth in claim 8, and a ring mounted centrally of said platform and defining said discharge passage, said ring having a spirally formed ridge on its upper surface disposed substantially flush with the surface of said platform and with which said shoes cooperate.

ALBERT E. GRAPP. 

